Integration of the Armed Forces | Page 4

and Adam Yarmolinsky, former assistant to the Secretary of Defense.
Many of the participants in this story generously shared their
knowledge with me and kindly reviewed my efforts. My footnotes
acknowledge my debt to them. Nevertheless, two are singled out here
for special mention. James C. Evans, former counselor to the Secretary
of Defense for racial affairs, has been an endless source of information
on race relations in the military. If I sometimes disagreed with his
interpretations and assessments, I never doubted his total dedication to
the cause of the black serviceman. I owe a similar debt to Lt. Comdr.
Dennis D. Nelson (USN Ret.) for sharing his intimate understanding of
race relations in the Navy. A resourceful man with a sure social touch,
he must have been one hell of a sailor.
I want to note the special contribution of several historians. Martin
Blumenson was first assigned to this project, and before leaving the
Center of Military History he assembled research material that proved
most helpful. My former colleague John Bernard Corr prepared a study

on the National Guard upon which my account of the guard is based. In
addition, he patiently reviewed many pages of the draft (p. xii)
manuscript. His keen insights and sensitive understanding were
invaluable to me. Professors Jack D. Foner and Marie Carolyn
Klinkhammer provided particularly helpful suggestions in conjunction
with their reviews of the manuscript. Samuel B. Warner, who before
his untimely death was a historian in the Joint Chiefs of Staff as well as
a colleague of Lee Nichols on some of that reporter's civil rights
investigations, also contributed generously of his talents and lent his
support in the early days of my work. Finally, I am grateful for the
advice of my colleague Ronald H. Spector at several key points in the
preparation of this history.
I have received much help from archivists and librarians, especially the
resourceful William H. Cunliffe and Lois Aldridge (now retired) of the
National Archives and Dean C. Allard of the Naval Historical Center.
Although the fruits of their scholarship appear often in my footnotes,
three fellow researchers in the field deserve special mention: Maj. Alan
M. Osur and Lt. Col. Alan L. Gropman of the U.S. Air Force and Ralph
W. Donnelly, former member of the U.S. Marine Corps Historical
Center. I have benefited from our exchange of ideas and have had the
advantage of their reviews of the manuscript.
I am especially grateful for the generous assistance of my editors,
Loretto C. Stevens and Barbara H. Gilbert. They have been both friends
and teachers. In the same vein, I wish to thank John Elsberg for his
editorial counsel. I also appreciate the help given by William G. Bell in
the selection of the illustrations, including the loan of two rare items
from his personal collection, and Arthur S. Hardyman for preparing the
pictures for publication. I would like to thank Mary Lee Treadway and
Wyvetra B. Yeldell for preparing the manuscript for panel review and
Terrence J. Gough for his helpful pre-publication review.
Finally, while no friend or relative was spared in the long years I
worked on this book, three colleagues especially bore with me through
days of doubts and frustrations and shared my small triumphs: Alfred
M. Beck, Ernest F. Fisher, Jr., and Paul J. Scheips. I also want

particularly to thank Col. James W. Dunn. I only hope that some of
their good sense and sunny optimism show through these pages.
Washington, D.C. MORRIS J. MACGREGOR, Jr. 14 March 1980

Contents (p. xiii)
Chapter Page
1. INTRODUCTION............................................. 3 The Armed forces
Before 1940............................ 3 Civil Rights and the Law in
1940........................ 8 To Segregate Is To Discriminate........................
13 2. WORLD WAR II: THE ARMY.................................. 17 A War
Policy: Reaffirming Segregation.................. 17 Segregation and
Efficiency............................. 23 The Need for
Change.................................... 34 Internal Reform: Amending Racial
Practices............. 39 Two Exceptions......................................... 46 3.
WORLD WAR II: THE NAVY.................................. 58 Development
of a Wartime Policy........................ 59 A Segregated
Navy...................................... 67 Progressive
Experiments................................ 75 Forrestal Takes the
Helm............................... 84 4. WORLD WAR II: THE MARINE
CORPS AND THE COAST GUARD...... 99 The First Black
Marines............................... 100 New Roles for Black Coast
Guardsmen................... 112 5. A POSTWAR
SEARCH....................................... 123 Black
Demands......................................... 123 The Army's Grand
Review............................... 130 The Navy's Informal
Inspection........................ 143 6. NEW
DIRECTIONS......................................... 152 The Gillem Board
Report............................... 153 Integration of the General
Service.................... 166 The Marine Corps...................................... 170
7. A PROBLEM OF QUOTAS.................................... 176 The Quota
in Practice................................. 182 Broader
Opportunities................................. 189
Assignments........................................... 194 A New

Approach........................................ 198 The Quota System: An
Assessment....................... 202 8. SEGREGATION'S
CONSEQUENCES............................. 206 Discipline and Morale
Among Black Troops.............. 206 Improving the Status of the
Segregated Soldier........ 215 Discrimination and the Postwar
Army................... 223 (p. xiv) Segregation in Theory and
Practice.................... 226 Segregation: An Assessment............................
231 9. THE POSTWAR NAVY....................................... 234